Bruce Murray Space Image Library

InSight SEIS tether moves with changing temperature

InSight SEIS tether moves with changing temperature
InSight SEIS tether moves with changing temperature Temperatures on Mars vary widely between day and night, causing spacecraft materials to expand and contract slightly. As a result, the InSight SEIS tether moved overnight between sols 37 and 38. These two photos were taken in the afternoon, near the hottest part of the day (at 13:24 and 14:09 local time, respectively). The load shunt assembly located close to the SEIS instrument is designed to isolate SEIS from this thermoelastic deformation of the tether. NASA / JPL-Caltech